Diary/Journal/Whatever is Manly

Chapter 28

"I'm sorry." The grunt she received in response was like a slap to the face. "I really am."

It had been a couple of weeks since the scene they had made at the library, and Misty was beginning to figure out that Tyler had been serious. It had taken him knocking his head on a bookshelf for her to realise that, people be damned, she liked Tyler's company quite a bit. So, to lose that company after the emotional rush of him being admitted to the hospital, it felt as though she had lost a limb. So, after the third day of him ignoring her she had enlisted some help.

---

"How do I get him to stop being mad at me?" Misty whined, slumping down in her chair in defeat.

"Why is he mad?" Stacey wondered. Yes, getting mad at Misty was an occupational hazard, but she would never have betted on Tyler giving up.

"Does it matter?"

"Okay little miss cagey, on a scale of one to ten how bad is the damage."

"A nine." The low whistle that Stacey let out was enough to have Misty cringing at her own response.

"Okay, here's what you have to do..."

***

"I got you your favourite food." Misty proclaimed with a smile. Unceremoniously, she dumped the bag onto the table, letting the contents spill out. It had taken time, but she had finally found Tyler at one of the gazebos. Any longer and the food would have gotten cold.

Tyler just gave her a blank look, the kind she usually gives strangers, one that translated to: 'who invited you?'

"I got it all: Japanese, chicken, burgers and more. This is gonna be a feast I tell you." Misty did not let Tyler's silence deter her as she laid out the different foods. She also deliberately chose not to classify the sandwich that laid in front of Tyler as food, let alone his lunch. Instead she extended him a fork and a plate, to which he stared at, as though they were new inventions. There was a moment of Misty awkwardly having her arms outreached, and Tyler staring blankly, before he abruptly stood up, packed his thing and left. Watching after him, Misty felt a pang in her heart, before she once again collapsed onto the chair in defeat. Tears pooling in her eyes, she decided to eat her sorrow away.

---

"If I made you really mad, how would I get you to talk to me again?" Misty asked. She had decided to seek the help of a male considering Stacey's advice had led to a dead end. She should have realised, Stacey would project herself into the situation, and boy did the girl love food.

"I would want you to get me something I've always hinted at wanting. It doesn't have to be expensive or anything, just appropriate. Otherwise I'd think you were just trying to buy my forgiveness."

---

Stanley's advice did not go far. There were too many variables for Misty to consider, she could not afford to make the situation any worse by offending Tyler with a lavish gift. "Not expensive, but appropriate. What does that even mean?" Misty grumbled to herself.

"You okay?"

Startled, Misty looked up to the source of the voice. Once her mind had linked the face to the database of people she knew, Misty let out a loud, "of course!" This caused Dennis to jump in surprise. "You're his best friend, you would know. How do I get Tyler to forgive me?"

"Ohhhh, that's why he's been sulking. What did you do?"

Dennis' tone had her feeling like a child in trouble, Misty could hardly stop the words from tumbling out. "I may have said that I no longer wanted to associate with him anymore." Misty mumbled.

"Why would you do that?" Misty flinched at the question, it may as well have been a slap to the face.

"I was feeling suffocated, all these people I didn't know were coming up to me and I...I just panicked.

"Have you tried anything yet, to get him to forgive you I mean?"

"I tried everything," Misty whined.

"Like what?"

"I got him his favourite food. I was gonna get him a gift but, too many variables involved. I–"

"Have you simply tried, just to apologise to him?"

---

"I'm sorry." The grunt she received in response was like a slap to the face. "I really am. Everything just got to be too much, suddenly I was on everyone's radar. With people I didn't even know, talking to me purely because I knew you. And, then these girls threatened me–"

"What?"

"And these boys tried to get me to share the goods, whatever that means–"

"Who!" It was not a yell. Just one word, said at the right volume to produce goose bumps on one's skin, and to make one shiver.

"I don't know!" By this point Misty could no longer hold it in, like a dam bursting under the pressure, she was suddenly flooding the library. "That's the point," she whimpered pathetically. As soon as she felt his arms, she slumped over, leaning her weight on him. She felt drained, physically and mentally. Never had she had such a roller coaster of emotions. Not even when twins had given up on her, the first time...or the second...or the couple times after that.

"I'm sorry I ruined your invisibility, but your first reaction shouldn't have been to pull the plug. You have no idea what that does to one's self-esteem." Tyler said softly, as he rocked a sobbing Misty back and forth. They were back at the scene of the crime. The place where Misty had come in like a hurricane, only to destroy his entire way of life. Last time he had left the place in the back of an ambulance, and now Misty was sobbing way too loudly for them to go about inconspicuously. If then carried on this way, favourites or not, they were going to get banned.

"Is it true?" Misty hiccupped.

"What?"

"A while ago, you said you knew what it felt like to be different. You chased me outside the library and–"

"Yeah, it's true." Tyler sighed.

"How so?"

"Don't get me wrong, I've always had a privileged life, and there's not really much I can complain about. But, after my parents died, suddenly I was no longer friend material. I was shunned, with most kids saying that, if they hung out with me long enough their parent's would be next. You see, I always thought it was my fault. I'm the one who wanted to go for a drive, I'm the one they were trying to make happy, and it cost them their lives. It wasn't the fact that they had died that got to me, it was the loneliness. I was never the most popular but I always had my parents, until I didn't. That's why I'll forever be thankful for Dennis, because he never abandoned me. I put on this act, because it's easier than dealing with reality. I may never feel it to the truest exact, but sometimes I think I catch a glimpse of it. When Dennis knows exactly what I need, or when I see the twins bicker. But, especially when I'm with you, that's when I feel like happiness is attainable."

"I make you happy?"

"From the very first passive-aggressive conversation."

"I didn't realise until you weren't there to do it, but you make me happy too."